Texas country singer/songwriter Aaron Watson will have a lot to celebrate at the CD release party of “Real Good Time” Friday at Gruene Hall.

The independent album, which hit store shelves Oct. 9, debuted at No. 9 on the Billboard country chart. His previous best was a No. 25 debut with “Road & the Rodeo” in 2010, part of a six-album streak charting on Billboard back to 2006.

The celebration, though, follows a somber anniversary.

Last year on Oct. 10, he and his wife, Kimberly, lost their daughter, Julia Grace, moments after birth. Throughout the pregnancy, they knew the child had a chromosomal defect that would be fatal.

“Today is a bittersweet day for my family,” Watson wrote on the Barbed Wire Halo Blog on aaronwatson.com. “On one hand there is the hype and excitement that comes with releasing a new album. On the other, there is sorrow and heartache as we celebrate the life of the little girl we lost a year ago today.”

After her death, he wrote, “Julia came into this world with the sweetest little cry that I have ever heard and then just like that she was gone. She was beautiful and elegant and I am so grateful for the little time we got to spend with her. Like an angel returning home, she left us gently and gracefully without any real pain or suffering ...

“We buried our little baby girl this week and we are heartbroken.”

In a letter to his fans on his website, Watson reveals that, with deadlines looming for the new album and its songs not yet written, his broken heart was worse than any type of writer's block.

“Late one December night, out of frustration, I hung my guitar on the wall and I hit my knees in prayer. I simply asked God for his help, nothing profound, and then I went to bed,” he wrote.

Weeks passed without inspiration. Then it came, and he wrote the bulk of the 18-song album in a few weeks.

“I also want to say that we miss you Julia Grace and though we selfishly wish we could have you here with us, we know that you are at home in Heaven. ‘At home in Heaven,' that is what I call a REAL GOOD TIME,” he wrote.

The Watsons' other children are Jake, 5, Jack, 3, and Jolee Kate, 19 months.

Sales of the single “Raise Your Bottle,” which topped the Texas charts, benefit The Boot Campaign, which aids troops returning home. Opening the show at Gruene Hall will be John David Kent.

Traditional country singer ﻿Darrell McCallwill play the dance at Kendalia Hall at 8 p.m. Saturday.

“Countrybilly” band Two Tons of Steel is next up on Swing Night on Monday at Sam's Burger Joint.

Country Music Hall of Fame member Reba McEntire is the latest performer to be announced for the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo. She will be there Feb. 11.

The second season of “The Texas Music Scene With Ray Benson,” the Grammy-winning leader of Asleep at the Wheel, will premiere at 11:35 p.m. Saturday on KSAT with Kevin Fowler, Junior Brown, Eleven Hundred Springs and The Wheeler Brothers, Austin Music Awards' new band of the year. The show is known for in-depth, behind-the-scenes interviews and closed-set performances. Check it out at www.txmusictv.com.